In January, the ex-president incorrectly blamed Nikki Haley for being in “charge of security” during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection
Donald Trump defended his mental fitness during a campaign rally in South Carolina Wednesday, claiming he was “sarcastic” when confusing Republican rival Nikki Haley with Rep. Nancy Pelosi in January.
“I’s very hard to be sarcastic when I interpose. I’m not a Nicki fan, and I’m not a Pelosi fan. And when I purposely interpose names they said, ‘He didn’t know Pelosi from Nikki, from tricky Nikki,” Trump said when speaking to his crowd of supporters in North Charleston. He attempted to further explain: “I interpose and they make a big deal out of it. I said, ‘No, no, I think they both stink, they have something in common they both stink.’ Remember this. When I make a statement like that about Nikki that means she will never be running for vice president.”
Last month, the former president incorrectly blamed Haley for being in “charge of security” during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on the Capitol, repeating Haley’s name four times where he almost certainly meant to say Pelosi’s. Trump not only confused Haley and Pelosi, but also repeated a claim that he offered to send 10,000 troops, which has been fully debunked by the Jan. 6 committee.
Trump, the same guy who suggested injecting disinfectant into people to treat COVID-19, also claimed back in November that he “sarcastically” mixed former President Barack Obama and current President Biden during public appearances.
Despite repeatedly bragging that he “aced” a cognitive test and correctly identified a whale while in office, many have questioned Trump’s mental fitness to be president. “Don’t be surprised if you have someone that is 80 in office, their mental stability is going to continue to decline. That’s just human nature,” said the former South Carolina governor when speaking on Face the Nation.